Some single and married couples share with GODFREY GEORGE their thoughts on wives splitting bills with their husband
No big deal footing the bills – Aminiowugha Green
I don’t have a problem footing all the bills in the home. It is not an issue at all. All I pray for is for God to keep me healthy to be able to go in search of my daily bread. Most women have a problem with having to split bills. It is a sociological issue. From time immemorial women see themselves as pets to be pampered and loved and not one to join in funding these expenses. So, it might be an issue. But, I would love to end up with a woman who would not be comfortable seeing me suffer to fund all the bills in the house. It will not be a bad idea to wake up to an alert from my wife for the children’s fees once in a while.
Wives should contribute – Emmanuel Sunday
It is only God that will help this generation of women. They just want to eat, eat and eat. Most of them do not want to contribute. I watched my mom go the extra mile to contribute her personal finance to the home. No matter how little, wives should contribute to their husband’s finances. It makes the love stronger. It shows the wife sees herself as one with the husband. How will a wife be comfortable seeing her children at home because the husband could not foot the bills? That is unfair.
Family belongs to both partners – Jackson Solomon
Men, as with women, need to be pampered sometimes. Women can surprise their husbands with monetary gifts. She can buy some groceries on her way back from work or even branch off at school and clear the kids’ school fees. No man jokes with a woman who helps out with the family’s financial needs. At the end of the day, the family belongs to them both. It should not suffer on the altar of bureaucracy and toxic feminism. The bills are for both of us; we should pay them together.
Nothing wrong splitting bills – Tekena Chepaka
There is nothing wrong with a wife to opt to split the bills with her husband. Whose bills are those in the first place? It is the family bills. The wife should contribute, but she should not be forced by her husband. If she says she cannot do it, then the husband should let it go and manage to pay what he can. But fundamentally, it is always advisable to marry a woman who is financially buoyant enough for you two to plan about he future of your family. No one person can bear the load of the entire family anyway. One would always need help sometimes.
It may breed disrespect – Emmanuel Sampson
It may breed contempt and disrespect. Most women do not see it as their responsibility so bringing it up as a man can be a lot of work. I watched my mom help out with family needs. Of course, she is buoyant financially. It made my parents’ union stronger. There was mutual trust and respect because both parties saw that they belonged together. But, the idea of splitting bills should be introduced by the woman. If she doesn’t bring it up, then the man should not so it does not seem that the load is already too much for him to bear. In the end, it is good one settles with a respectful and responsible woman, who would do things for the home and no one outside would hear of it.
- My marriage...With Omowumi Ayeni-Oluwagbemiga
- Culture shock can influence lives, marriage
- When love is blind: Visually impaired broadcaster beats odds to marry sighted friend
Men should foot all bills – Favour George
It is not the duty of the wife to provide for the home. I don’t know why men these days love to run away from their responsibilities. Am I supposed to rent a house for a man, pay the children’s school fees, buy food and fund the home needs? No. That is not my role. People will always say that women should support but I have seen where the woman becomes the breadwinner and the man goes on to become so lazy and does nothing. Before you know it, he has begun cheating. Let the men go out there and work and take care of their families. If the wife wants to contribute, it should be out of her own volition, not because it is her obligation to do so.
No wife should be idle – Mercy Chepaka
The fact that this is an issue in this century makes it obvious that this generation of marriages has a lot of foundational problems. It is true that God made man the provider, anchor, and sole giver of all finances of the home. But, let us not forget that he also said the woman should be a helpmeet – one who helps the man to shoulder his responsibilities. Like the right hand washes the left, the left should also wash the right. No one should decide to stay idle. Else, the home will suffer. No woman should sit idly at home, waiting for the man to buy matches and sanitary pads for her, when she can provide these basic needs for herself. What if the man loses his job? What happens to the home?
No big deal splitting bills – Queen Longjohn
There is nothing wrong with splitting the bills as long as one is with a responsible man. The man is not supposed to bear all the financial burdens in a relationship, especially when one knows that his financial muscle is not big enough to do so. I won’t mind splitting the bills. But, the caveat is that this man must be a responsible man. One who has the fear of God to do what is right. I won’t want to give my money to a man who does not value me as his partner much less as one who is a part of his problems and joys.
May breed ego problems – Godbless Pepple
It may bring up issues in the home. Some men have ego problems. Once they see that the woman is trying to be helpful by contributing, they become emasculated. They begin to feel inferior and may start to nag. That is why you will see a woman with so much money going out with a guy who does not have so much but she would not want to contribute to paying the bills at lunch or dinner so that the man does not begin to feel like you want to take his place in the home. In this 21st century, there are a lot of issues one needs to consider as a woman before one even enters a relationship. The first thing is finance. Will the man be able to take care of the family finances when you get married and begin to have kids?
Situation dicey – Eucharia Ikpe
Well, it is a very dicey situation. Originally, the man is meant to be the sole provider, one who the entire family runs to for help. There is nothing wrong with a woman having her own money and contributing to the family’s finances. But the man must not use that as leverage to be lazy or to relinquish his God-given role as a man and provider of his home. As for me, I have no problem splitting some of the bills, especially when my man cannot afford it. But, this man must not forget that I am the woman and not the man in the relationship. He must stand up and take up more space in the home.
